Nothing captures the spirit of an NFL training camp quite like a position battle.

Two or three players jockeying for the same job. Rookies pushing aging veterans, who labor to keep them at arm’s length. Heated competition sharpening everyone for the Sundays to come.

As a team low on high-end talent but up to its neck in young players, the Patriots intend to roll the footballs out and let summer decide. Every practice rep, period and drill will matter. Let the best players win.

Here are the five position battles to watch in Foxboro:

Quarterback

This competition began brewing the moment the Patriots drafted Drake Maye.

Maye, as the No. 3 overall pick, faces an uphill climb to oust veteran Jacoby Brissett. New offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt anointed Brissett as the starter in June, when he said there is no timetable for when Maye should be expected to take the reins. He also described Maye’s ongoing NFL training as a marathon; a process not to be rushed.

“You have to take that as it comes,” Van Pelt said of Maye. “I think it’ll be a combination of a couple things. When those decisions are made – and they’ll be made together as a group with Eliot (Wolf) and coach (Jerod) Mayo – when that time comes, we’ll see.”

If Maye gains ground in the coaches’ eyes, the first sign will be an increase in first-team reps. Brissett worked with the Pats’ projected offensive starters virtually all spring, when Maye rose from the No. 3 quarterback to No. 2 man during team drills. If Maye begins to siphon off more of Brissett’s snaps behind the top offensive line in practice, that will indicate the coaching staff believes he has a shot to start Week 1.

For now, the odds of Maye starting the opener look long, but nothing can be ruled out quite yet.

Wide receiver

Thanks to two drafted rookies and the middling talent around them, the Patriots could start any number of a half-dozen different receivers early this season.

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DeMario Douglas, the slippery, jitterbug slot weapon, feels like a lock. Second-round rookie Ja’Lynn Polk will make the team, as should fourth-rounder Javon Baker, but both must earn their way to a Week 1 nod. The same goes for Kendrick Bourne, who missed all of OTAs and minicamp as he continued to recover from a torn ACL, but projects as a solid No. 3 receiver again. Ditto for free-agent addition K.J. Osborn.

The rest of this group is a mixed bag of long shots and disappointment.

Former second-round pick Tyquan Thornton desperately needs a strong summer to stick. Then there’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who might only remain in New England because of his currently untradeable contract. Behind him are Kayshon Boutte and Jalen Reagor, players firmly on the back end of the roster bubble to start camp.

The Pats cannot be expected to keep more than seven receivers, and may opt for as few as five. After Douglas, Polk and Bourne, it’s anyone’s guess.

Offensive line

Former Steelers right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor has been penciled in as the Pats’ new starting left tackle. If he holds on to that job, Okorafor will join new left guard Sidy Sow and center David Andrews in the starting lineup. Mike Onwenu should also return at right tackle.

Or is it right guard?

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Coming off two consecutive seasons when their O-line sunk certain games, questions somehow persist about the Pats’ offensive front – including Onwenu. Onwenu took snaps at guard and tackle this spring because the Patriots do not have a solidified starter at right guard, his old position. Fourth-year vet Nick Leverett and fourth-round rookie Layden Robinson are the top candidates there, but If neither claims that job, Onwenu may slide back, allowing third-round rookie Caedan Wallace to start at right tackle.

But that’s if and only if Wallace doesn’t beat out Okorafor on the blind side. All told, the Patriots’ offensive line will hinge on whether new position coach Scott Peters can successfully transition at least one longtime right tackle (Okorafor and/or Wallace) to left tackle and fill the open right guard position.

Lots to sort through by September.

Cornerback

Behind young stud Christian Gonzalez and the ever solid Jonathan Jones, the Patriots’ quietest position battle may ultimately prove to be their best.

Young unknowns Alex Austin, Marco Wilson and Isaiah Bolden, a 2023 seventh-round pick who missed all of last season, took turns flashing in OTA practices. Any one of them could surprise as the Pats’ new No. 3 cornerback, assuming Marcus Jones sticks at nickel and/or safety. Austin proved himself last year with a stellar pick of Josh Allen in Buffalo. Wilson boasts the most starting experience (three interceptions and 13 starts in 2022). Bolden may be the most physically gifted of them all.

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A year ago, the Pats’ cornerback depth hurt them after Gonzalez went down in Week 4 and Jonathan Jones missed several games. This season, this group could go from an injury-ravaged weakness into a major strength.

Kicker

It’s Chad Ryland versus Joey Slye.

A youngster coming off a disastrous rookie season against the journeyman veteran.

The criteria here will be simple: make more kicks to make the team.

Ryland, a fourth-round pick who hit 64% of his field goals last year, isn’t shying away from the competition.

“I’m certainly looking forward to it. I’m no coward to a challenge,” Ryland said in May. “And (I) certainly want to continue to grow in my craft and will hopefully grow each year and take each offseason moving forward; through how many years I’m blessed to play, as serious as I did this offseason.”